Let's move ahead

It's December 6th and i saw a lot of posters and banners in Chennai condemning the act of Babri Masjid demolition.  It is proved beyond doubt now using archaeological evidence that there was a ram temple existing there where babar has build this mosque.  Contention of RSS on this has been accepted by supreme court

While act of babar was not right, it is also not right of demolishing the masjid by hindus.  Eye for eye will not solve any problem and 2 wrongs cannot make 1 right.  Unfortunately, in India, we do not have 1 representative for either hindus or muslims to sit, discuss and solve this challenge.  Given this, both parties has to accept the judgement of courts and leave it as such

How long, we can live in a terrorized mindset whenever 6/12 comes.  Let's move ahead

Funny world of share market

Someone sneezes in Europe or Japan or US and our market catches cold.  Some oil giant announces increase in supply, suddenly, it goes up to 300 points and then the next day, it tanks 500 points.  Stock prices soar 1 day and go to bottom the next day

Common man, who with his little money to invest (i will not say greed), and in a bid to earn additional sum invests something, not knowing that this is not a child's play and he is not warren buffet, puts in money in shares when the prices go up.  Unfortunately for him/her, market sinks to historical low and he puts towel over his head

Still the common man does not lose hope, he purchases more shares when the market is down and next day market goes up and he thinks he can regain the loss of previous day and sells thereby compensating to some extent for the loss 2 days back.  When he totals up, he will be at net loss.  Finally, common man decides to come out of share market and it is always like this 'Queue in which i am standing moves slowly' concept. Once he quits share market, he sees the newspapers daily to see where the sensex is doing and it started growing and he is lured again

Some say, they are experts in share market.  I remember in my college days, my friends uncle used to invest in shares heavily and he told us that he has earned a lot in market.  That's when i think Harshad Mehta scandal took place and some days later, he told me that he has lost all his investments

It is the common man who is always the loser in the funny world of share market and sensex

Proud to be finance professional

I had a argument with one of the salesmen sometime back.  He was mentioning that sales is the most important function and accountants are there to just account whatever he brings in and cannot ask questions as they are the breadwinners

Well...well...well...i gave him a reply which he could have never thought in his wildest dreams

Whenever any person wants to start a business, I, the finance person comes into picture.  I create infrastructure, rent building, bring in the materials that has to be sold, bring in policy to run business, get all licenses required and ask the so called sales man to sell it for me, so that i can account even the profit or loss whatever that it is going to fetch.  So, the sales man role is to just sell and not to ask questions

I also calculate IRR and NPV to advise the owner whether it is prudent to continue the business or invest in fixed deposit to get better returns.  More important, in case of winding up of a business, i am the last person to leave as i have to ensure the books are properly closed and business is also closed properly

So, finance is the backbone and the most important of all functions in a company and i am proud to be one among the finance professionals

Rounding off error

Government of India announced last year that the minimum currency is 50 paise and abolished lesser denominations, which means that i cannot have anything called 5 paise, 10 paise, 25 paise anymore.  When i get my broadband bill, it always says 500.67 and i end up paying 501 and lose 33 paise in the bargain

When i buy something from the medical shop, if the bill value is 49.52 (inclusive of all taxes), i end up paying 50 and lose 48 paise.  This is not the case of mine alone.  Each one of us end up paying the change and lose some cash on a daily basis.  Who gets this extra cash and where it is going

Government rounds off taxes to the nearest rupee of higher value as it does not want to lose revenue and the same logic is applied to all those people to whom i am paying and if government does not want to recognize smaller denominations of our currency, then why can't it round off everything to the nearest 50 paise or even abolish the 50 paise coins as it is very difficult now a days to recognize whether something is 50 paise or 1 rupee or 5 rupees as everything comes of the same size

At least i will lose the difference in cash knowingly rather than unknowingly, but whose listens to me

Change economy

Like any other salaried employee, i have my monthly commitments and EMIs.  Post all these expenses and sort of some savings, what is left in my bank account is amount less than Rs.100 (please don't laugh) or for example Rs.49.49 is left in my savings bank account.  But, that is not the challenge.  Challenge is that i cannot withdraw this amount from the ATM as they don't keep provisions for withdrawing this amount.  Even if i go to the nearest bank branch to withdraw this amount, they don't entertain as the minimum currency now is 50 paise

Though salary accounts of people working for bigger corporates are said to be 0 balance account, in actual practice, people do not withdraw these change.  Imagine what would be the end balance maintained by salaried class in the bank accounts and the money enjoyed by the bank.  Probably, this unclaimed balance might be bigger than the NPAs with the banks

Shrimathi Charitable Trust - Library

It is one of the proud moment for me as well as the trustees that Shrimathi is moving into a new direction.  As part of bringing value to the society, Shrimathi is starting a library/reading center from 7th September 2013 onward at Chrompet, Chennai

Magazines and Newspapers will be placed for reading along with a string of books on management, accounting, novels, religious books.  We are collating books from our sources and also trying to make reading a habit

We require your blessings and support to make this a useful venture

New India - Conglomeration of 560 states

Before independence, india was divided into British india and conglomeration of 560 princely states.  Sardar patel took it single handedly to merge these princely states into Indian union.  These states include Hyderabad Nizam, Mysore, Bhopal, Rajputs, J&K, Travancore to name a few

With the formation of Telengana and the request coming in for separate statehood from Vidharba, Bodoland, Poorvanchal, Darjeeling, Kodava land, Rayalaseema, Jammu, Ladakh, Paschim Pradesh.  We might ending up going into the same old pre-independence era of central government and 560 states.  We will have 560 CMs and imagine the state of our country if this happens

I cannot understand the logic that small states are better to govern and if this is the case, north east India should be the most industrialized state in our country, which is not the case.  Size does not matter in this case, but what we require is good governance

But, who listens to me.  Welcome New India - Conglomeration of 560 states

Economic road to recovery

We are reading quite often now a days that Indian economy or world economy is on the road of recovery.  Suddenly some credit rating agency says that India's sovereign rating will be downgraded.  Some other person comes out and says that economy is growing at less than 5%

Come on...let us get a break from all these nonsense.  I call this nonsense, because India is a country of 120 crore people and this economy cannot go down if those who plan make it proper.  All 120 crore require shelter, food and clothes.  All 120 crore has to be protected.  We are traditionally savings driven economy and slowly we are moving into a consumption driven economy like the US and that is probably the reason for these agencies downgrading us.  During the ASEAN crisis of early 2000, we were unaffected due to our strong basics.  Fast we are losing our uniqueness

I feel that all our sectors focus only on major cities ignoring our small towns and villages and that is our lifeline and the attitude should change

Let's not forget our culture

Mothers day, fathers day, parents day, valentines day, friendship day, sister day, brother day, womens day, family day - We have imported all sorts of days from western world.  One way it is good as we come to know about western culture

Hope we do not export and forget our own culture and tradition.  Let us not forget reason for celebrating Janmashtami, Ram Navami, Deepavali, Sankaranti and even traditional festival of other religions.  Yesterday we have Krithigai star in the tamil month of Aadi and we will be having 18th day of Aadi as famous festival Aadi Peruku, where as per tradition Cauvery will be flowing in full might in Tamilnadu

While we embrace good things from western world, let us maintain our culture as well as we have liveliness only in our culture

Strange word called 'Policy Decision'

Well....one thing no one has got authority to question is 'Policy Decision', be it a corporate or government or any other place, when it is mentioned as policy, then no question can be asked

Last year, when many people in some states were dying of hunger, honorable supreme court of India took a sou moto case and ordered Government of India whether the food grains getting rotten in the FCI godowns can be distributed to the poor people and stop them from dying.  Agriculture ministry said in its reply that those food grains cannot be distributed and it is policy decision and court does not have jurisdiction to get into policy decisions of the government

Strange enough, court also did not take it up further.  It is right that policy decisions cannot be questioned, but what if that policy itself is not correct.  Well as the saying goes, 'Policy decisions cannot be questioned'

Ashes 2013

In 2005, when England regained Ashes, i was thinking that future Ashes contest will be back to the same intensity.  Come 2007, when England toured down under with Flintoff at the helm, they lost the series 5-0 and the Ashes story was the same again with Australia dominating

Then come the next 2 Ashes in 2009 and 2011 with England in full control.  Fighting spirit of the Aussie waning, 2013 Ashes is so one-sided that Aussies are not even fighting.  Day 3 of the Lord's test will be a huge test of Aussie character and if the Aussie fails again today, then we are seeing a 3rd Ashes series with England in total control

Reality Bites

Last sunday, i went to one of my friends house for his kids first birthday celebration.  It is just 5 kms from my house.  The roads were good, but i just got confused with the route, so i checked with a passerby, who asked me to follow the lake, and i will reach the place.  All along the 5 km road, i could not see any lake or even trace of it. There were houses and shops all along the road, but nothing called lake

There probably was a lake in that place sometime back and now it is not.  Entire lake is swallowed and i could see tanker lorries at some places who were taking water from bore wells from some vacant piece of land.  In a city where water is a scarce commodity, if we gobble the lakes and ponds, i am more worried about the survival of this city

But, who cares

Local Economy - An Utopia

Couple of weeks back, in a TV reality show 'Neeya Naana' (You or Me), topic of discussion was whether we will go to big shops or small shops for shopping.  Shopping can be anything, may be Groceries, cookeries, dresses, jewels or for that matter anything.  Most of the speakers shared that they will go to big shops for purchase citing ambiance, price, quality, variety and citing many reasons

Incidentally, i happened to read an article about local economy, wherein the plight of small traders are mentioned.  It is true that we will have better shopping experience in big malls.  However, the small traders near our house has kept his shop open thinking that we will buy from him and his business also thrive

My father use to tell me about taking care of local economy.  He told me once, not to buy a new pair of chappals, if the old one can be repaired, so that cobblers can get their bread for the day.  Purchase some of your grocery requirements from the provision store near your house, so that he also can survive the onslaught of super markets.  Be it vegetables or fruits or dresses, give your due share to the local vendor

I tried this and it was working fine for me.  For the past 2 years, i go to the local shop near my house (Vanaja Textiles) for the dress requirements and even the dress requirement of my son's Upanayanam was met by this guy.  I purchased a pair of shoes recently and it was from the shopkeeper in my street.  I could see some satisfaction from the faces of these guys and it also saves me money and effort of going to big crowded shops or supermarkets and malls

Good thing about the local shop keeper is that, if your brand or color is not available, they take pains in getting it for you.  This personal care you will not get in a big mall.  For big stores, you are 1 among the thousand and for this small shopkeeper you are godsend

Let us help the local economy to thrive

Quantum Physics - Do we have opportunities in India

An Indian american has won this year's spelling competition in US.  He is just 14 and it is his 3rd attempt at this competition.  He stood 3rd in the past 2 years.  Some of the words which he spelled correctly is amazing.  I could not understand how these young kids get fascinated with words and more so, during the interview, he has mentioned that he wanted to study quantum physics

Well...at 41 years, i have read something about quantum physics, but at 14 this young kid has got so much clarity on what to do in life is quite amazing.  He also told the interviewer that he will be studying physics during this year's vacation

I was also wondering how many kids in our country know that there are opportunities outside engineering, doctor or commerce graduation.  We have to encourage kids to experiment and support them

Water wars starts at flats

Sometime back, i happened to read an article about 3rd world war.  It said that 3rd world war, if happens will be only because of water.  Countries will try to take control of water that is flowing through it to ascertain superiority.  Well, that's the reason we have water fights between different states in our country.  Everyone thinks that they require more water for their needs

Let's come back home now.  In our apartment there are 12 families and we get lorry water on a daily basis.  Every dwelling unit complain that they don't get water, but god knows where that lorry water is going.  Actually speaking, if the lorry water is equally shared, it will suffice the requirement of all the 12 flats.  But, we engage in oneupmanship and try to get additional water by blaming others

I realized that water wars does not start between countries, but they start at flats

Water supply by tanker lorries

It's summer time and Chennai and its suburbs face one more round of water scarcity.  It might continue till the next spell of rain comes (God...please tell us when that will happen)

Water is not coming in the pipes of my house, but it comes in tanker lorries.  I wonder, when the water is not coming in pipes and the lakes are empty, wherefrom the tanker lorries get water from.  Why can't the government tap this and ensure that water is supplied not through lorries but through pipes.  When the tanker lorries can afford to get water, why can't the government get this.  At least the accidents caused by these water tankers can come down

Power crisis and IPL

Recently, one  my friend told me that with so much power cuts in Tmil Nadu, dowe actually require IPL.  The stadium is consuming so much power that it could avoid power cuts.  More so, the common man does not get any benefit out of this IPL

Common man does not get any benefit even out of the mediore cinema and so called other entertainment.  A lot of power can be saved, if cinema halls are asked to stop the noon and matinee shows and allowed only evening and night shows.  For example, if TN has got around 500 theaters and reducing 2 shows means saving 6 hours of energey probably runing into 1000s of watts saving

So, let us not blame one form of entertainment as reason for power cuts.  Entertainment without purpose in all forms are bad.  Stop the blame game and Pay....Oops sorry Play

OH YES ABHI...

Tomato @Rs.80

I wonder quite often about this paradox.  On one hand, we have prices of essential commodities soar and on the other hand, we have famers suicide

I was discussing with my friend today about prices and he told me that he has purchased tomato @Rs.80 per kg.  I also happened to read an article that farmers sell tomato to traders/middlemen @50 paise per kg and if the farmer asks Re1, then the trader/middlemen refused to take the produce.  Tomato being perishable item, farmers are forced to sell it and in the above article, farmers threw the produce in highways as form of protest

Only if farmers are given access to the cold storage, only if farmers are given access directly to the customers, only if farmers are free from the middlemen, only if we also does not argue for 50 paise or 1 rupee reduction with road side vendors, only if......Oh...come on, we cannot stop farmers suicide with so many ifs and buts...

Caste system and Cricketers

Well...In India we have 4 broad caste system.  Lord Krishna says in Bhagavad Gita that he created 4 castes and they are Brahman, Vysya, Kshatriya and Sudra.  He clearly explains that the caste is based on the job what they do and not anything to do with birth

Brahman should study and teach.  Vysya should engage in trading activity and create wealth for the country.  Kshatriya has to protect the land and Sudra is to support (service industry).  Vysya is supposed to support the other 3 in performing their duties by giving them money and other support.  All 4 are supposed to work together for the benefit of the land

I was thinking that where we can fit the sportsmen and people from cinema industry.  They are not teaching anything, nor they create wealth for the country.  They also do not protect land and also do not part of the support cast.  So, they do not fit in anywhere

Even during older times, we had sports activities, we had entertainment, etc.  But, what was supposed to be done in the evening after a tiring day's work has become a job in itself.  Each individual is supposed to work for the wealth creation for the country and if some time is left, then they can pursue their passion.  What we see in the current world is that sportsmen or the entertainment industry, does not bother about wealth creation for the country

So, i still wonder where these people fit into the caste system propagated by Bhagavat Gita

They came and conquered

Recently, i read a book 'Vandhargal Vendrargal' by Madhan.  This book is about the islamic invasion of India from 1000 AD till the fall of the Mughal empire

The book deals extensively with all the kings who invaded, looted, established their iron fist over the Indian sub continent.  It also talks indepth about the power fight whenver there is a change of guard at Delhi

It is not about cruelty alone.  There were kings like Sher Shah, Akbar, who were working more on development and equality of all citizens and there are crooked kings like Shah Jahan, Allaudin Kilji.  There were also slave kings like Kutbudin Haibek, Iltutmish.  It also deals with Puppet kings

When i completed reading this book, i got a feeling of living those 850 years on my own.  What fascinated me about this book is that, i was under the impression that India was under one roof during the rule of Aurangazeb, but before Aurangazeb, Allaudin Kilji has ruled the entire India and the Pandian kings of Madurai were paying taxes to Delhi.  My impression about Aurangazeb got changed to positive and my impression about Shah Jahan became negative after reading this book

Thuglak was an beautiful character who decides without thinking about the consequences and there were many other kings who took decisions which affected the very fabric of this country

I would recommend each one to read this book to understand the correct history of India.  Before reading this book, i was under the impression that our Indian kings were really great and they cannot be defeated, etc.  This notion took a beating that all the muslim rulers who invaded or ruled India has brutally killed many indian kings and many kings surrendered in front of the islamic invaders

The book also takes us through the journey the Kohinoor Diamond has gone through before settling itself with the british monarch.  Book also explains the journey of the Peocock throne sitting on which Akbar and the other Mughal rulers ruled India for 250 years

Very fascinating to read

Modi and US Visa

Recently, european governments have agreed to revisit the ban on Modi and started engaging him in business deals.  All the european governments have started endorsing Modi's vision.

US has still not revisited their earlier decision of non-engagement with Modi.  If Modi becomes PM (whch is more likely to happen in 2014), then US will relax the visa norms stating that he has been cleared of all cases by indian courts

Real reason behind all these things are business.  Modi as PM will hold absolute power and for Europe and US business people, investment in India will be more attractive and for this they require support of Modi

It is all money at the end.  For once, i want Modi to reject the US visa and say that he did not want visa from US.  Not sure, whether this will happen, given our mindset of accepting anything from US and Europe

One more round of blasts

We had another round of blasts last week.  This time at Hyderabad.  This time also it is a serial blasts.  One improvement though...the terrorists have planned it so meticulously that they have disconnected the CCTV cameras

The blame game will start now.  PM has already mentioned that his government will not be soft on terrorism and the guilty will be punished.  Home Minister is busy with his saffron terror remark.  Opposition has also condemned the attack.  What else to do

So, every one has done their customary duties

Let's play cricket now and let us call it cricket diplomacy and also mention that sports and culture should not be mixed with politics

It's cricket time

Government employees have got no just right to strike

In 2003, when 1 lakh state government employees in tamil nadu went for strike, state government acted boldly and swiftly to ban all the government employees union

Unions went to supreme court and the verdict came in fvour of state government

Honourable Supreme Court observed that 'Government employees have got no just right to strike' and also upheld the state governments' decison to ban the unions.  All the unions fell at the feet of the chief minister asking for pardon.  No state government in India have got guts to do this act

It is 8 years since and today we are seeing strike by bank across India and i heard one of the trade union representative said that they are on strike for the benefit of the common man.  I am thinking that what benefit i am going to get by this strike.  Yes, there are hardships because of this strike that i could not withdraw cash from ATMs today and the situation might be worse tomorrow

Can the courts take note of this strike and tell the striking people that i as a common man does not get any benefit out of a strike by a government employee

India's own Orphans

Have you guys heard about Pandits.  Well.....yes there used to be a breed called Pandits in India and they were from Kashmir

Ah...yes, we had a famous pandit in India and who happened to be our first prime minister.  Pandit Jawarhal Nehru

Let us go back to my first sentence...there used to be a breed in India called Pandits.  Yes.  This is the sorry state of affairs of pandits in India and the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty is from India's original brahmin clan 'Pandits'.

What happened to them...why we call them orphans.  Pandits are the original brahmins of India and they are the original habitants of the kashmir valley.  Saraswathi Bhandar is one of the ancient libraries of ancient India where all the religious books are kept.  Saint Ramanuja had visited this library in 1050 AD before the invasion by Persians, Mohals, Turks, Afgans and Mangols

They are supposed to be richest in India before the 1990 islamisation of kashmir valley.  Once a famous tribe of India, now most of the pandit community are living in delhi as beggars living on the pension given by government of india and the pension what they get is Rs.3500 per month

Let us have atleast some word of sympathy for this endangered clan

Justice atlast for Parliament attack

It has been a long wait for 8 years and we all waited with patience for justice to be delivered.  Finally, the glad news that Afzal Guru has been hanged

I feel that it is the starting point and all the terrorists and those who do heinous crime should get hanged without any mercy.  We have to shed the image of soft state and the hanging of afzal guru and ajmal kasab are all in the right direction

We now request the president of india to reject the mercy plea of all terrorists

Kamal Haasan

We all know that Kamal Haasan is extra ordinary, but with Vishwaroopam he has crossed all limits.  Only he can do what he has done

The way he has performed in this film as Kuchipudi dancer and then as terrorist and then finally as RAW agent, he has created a bench mark for himself

No one in the current indian film industry can beat this guy in terms of performance and risk taking.  A true legend in his own way

Shrimathi Charitable Trust

A brain child of my wife, whose anxiety and interest in helping people who otherwise does not have access to quality education.  The commitment and dedication that she show in helping and serving people, made us think of making it more formal and orderly

My father supported this whole heartedly and was a great inspiration for us as he normally help people in our area

Trust got conceptulized in April 2011 and registered in June 2011.  It is close to 2 years and we have plans of making this bigger with support of friends and well-wishers

I just pray that my kids take this to greater heights

Bus Day and its ill effects

We have this menace of bus day in Chennai.  Not sure, who created this concept of bus day and did they perceived it to be this ugly.  Students hijack the bus in the name of celebrations and torture commuters for the whole day, not only bringing city to a halt but also take pride of doing so

Some years back, i was conducting an interview session and i happened to meet a candidate who has finished his college a year back from one of the city's colleges. He coud not answer basic accounting questions of journal entry or BRS.  I change the topic and asked him whether he celebrated bus day during his college and his face turned bright and answered how he enjoyed it

He also told me that he has a brother who is studying in 2nd year in the same college.  I told him that i am rejecting his candidature and asked him to go and inform his brother about this

Hello Mr.Gandhi - Part II

Hello Mr.Gandhi,

In continuation of my letter to you yesterday, there are other pressing issues that face us today and you are silent.  How can i get confidence in you and elect you and your party to rule me for 5 more years

1) We all know that Indians have got huge black money stacked up in foreign banks and there are rumours that many high flying CEOs of India Inc and many from your own party have got black money in foreign banks and we are even seeing articles in leading papers that the value of it might be trillions of dollars

2) US and many countries affected by black money menace have taken steps to bring it back to their country.  What steps that Government of India has taken and can we get some concrete dates by which we can recover tax and penalty on this money

3) The person who had full knowledge on this has become President of our country now and protocol might not allow him to speak on this now.  Even otherwise, why would he speak now, when he is enjoying his retirement life

4) What is our Governments' foreign policy as far as our SAARC neighbours are concerned

5) Why are we silent as far as illegal immigrants from Bangladesh.  Again, we read from newspapers that these illegal immigrants now hold ration cards in India

6) We saw couple of months back that these illegal immigrants clashed with local population in Assam.  Don't you think that by not taking this forcefully with Bangladesh, we are changing the topography of our country

An open letter to Rahul Gandhi

Hello Mr.Gandhi,

To start with let me tell you that if poll happens for lok sabha today, i will vote only for BJP.  Now, please do not think that i am a BJP supporter.  Let me explain the reasons to you and i would like you to assure me that why should i select congress ahead of BJP as these questions what i am going to pose you might probably be there in the mind of every common citizen of our country
1) Why you are not coming out in open on your stand on various challenges facing the nation
2) What is your stand on Afzal Guru - Neither you nor your party has clarified on what you are going to do with his mercy petition
3) What is the action that you are planning to do with Suresh Kalmadi - Now, don't tell me that law will take its own course as we have seen many courses of law in our country
4) Why you are silent on 2G spectrum - again i don't want to listen that law will take its own course
5) Why congress is too soft on terrorism and naxalism.  There is no concrete action coming out from the party in power

These are 1st set of questions and my 2nd set of questions would be published tomorrow

However, i will be away from Congress Party till i get an answer and i hope you will give me an answer shortly

Dhoni...

With series of loss that Indian cricket team is undergoing, people are carving for Dhoni's head and think that by making Virat Kohli as captain, India's fortune will change

I feel that the challenge is not with Dhoni's leadership, it is with attitude of some of the senior cricketers like Sehwag, Gambhir, Zaheer and co.  It is time that selectors get rid of these luggage from the team or give them stern warning, so that indian cricket move ahead